Inteview With Mark Samuels, President/Co-Founder of Basin Street Records

by Willy Volk on

I visited New Orleans during Mardi Gras in the mid-90s. It was awesome, if not a little overwhelming. Since then, I’ve promised myself I’d return. I love the architecture in the city. My head spins at all the wonderful smells wafting from the restaurants. And, of course, I love walking around the street with a beer.

As a music lover, I’d really like to visit the Big Easy during Jazz Fest, an annual event preparing to celebrate its 1037th Anniversary over the weekends of April 27-29 AND May 4-6. With artists like Harry Connick Jr., Rod Stewart, Norah Jones, ZZ Top, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Lee Lewis, Counting Crows, Allman Brothers Band, Allen Toussaint, George Thorogood, Better Than Ezra, Taj Mahal, Lucinda Williams, Galactic, Buckwheat Zydeco, and many, many more, the event is going to kick major butt! I wonder if I have vacation days left at work…

Over at Blogging New Orleans, Mike Schleifstein recently interviewed Mark Samuels, president and co-founder of Basin Street Records (which has many artists performing at Jazz Fest). Together, Samuels and Schleifstein discuss the record industry; the current state of New Orleans; the beauty and joy of Jazz Fest; the recovery efforts currently underway in the city; and a whole bunch more. If you love music, New Orleans, or politics, this is a podcast you should check out. It’s really well done.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of January 7

by Adrienne Wilson on

Mic check 1,2, 3… Gadling readers do you here me? It’s Friday recap time so check it out!

5. New Blogger Joins Gadling Team:
New travel bloggers seem to be popping up every week here on Gadling and we can’t tell you how happy we are to have Dia Draper share her own travel tales and finds. Go on over and see what she has to say about herself, where she’s been and wish her a warm welcome.

4. Thinking Cold Thoughts for 2007:
Ever seen an entire car or tree frozen under a sheet of ice? Even if you probably have I promise you it couldn’t have been worse than this unless you where there in Switzerland when it happened. Have no clue what I’m talking about? Go see for yourself.

3. Postcards from Antigua Part 3: The Jolly Beach Resort:
Isn’t Neil the lucky one? In part 3 of his Antigua travels he reveals what’s going down around the Jolly Beach Resort and provides us with photos from the very sheets in his bedroom to the view of the resort.

2. World’s Most Aggressive “Queue Jumpers”:
Here is a piece Iva found that really moved me personally. The Brits call them “Queue Jumpers” and the rest of us usually refer to them as “line cutters” or those that cut while others patiently wait their turn in line. Find out which airports the world’s most aggressive line cutters are hiding out and prepare for a queue jumping brawl during your travels.

1.Gadling Podcast: Mike Marriner of Roadtrip Nation:
For those that wish there were more Podcasts here on Gadling, let me say I wish there were too. Maybe one a day in the future? For now Erik brings you Mike Marriner of Roadtrip Nation. Listen in now and look out for more.

Gadling Podcast: Mike Marriner of Roadtrip Nation

by Erik Olsen on

What do you do for a living? Do you have the job you love or did you join a career for financial expedience? Perhaps you chose your job as a result of family pressure? The big questions is: do you do what you love? Did you take the time to think about it? (OK, that was two questions).

No matter. The point is that we sometimes rush into big life decisions without the kind of careful consideration that would help us be more happy. This exact thought was on the mind of Mike Marriner and his friends when they graduated from college, and rather than make a rash decision about what to do next, they did the sensible thing: Road Trip.

In this new podcast I talk with Mike about how he took the road trip that changed his life and that led to the creation of Roadtrip Nation, a massive national roadtrip program that seeks to get young people to think before they leap into the great, slimy, deep, cold, creature-infested pond of life (or the warm, bubbly, Swedish-model-filled jacuzzi of life in you happen to be Hugh Hefner). As Mike explains, Roadtrip Nation exploded from a cross-country Winnebago ramble into a full fledged national program with TV shows and books attached. It is very cool and very inspirational and, well, why don’t you just go ahead and listen.

Oh, by the way, we are also on itunes, so feel free to subscribe for your ipod.

And if you’re interested in any of our other previous podcasts besides those mentioned above, here is a quick list

-Diver and explorer John Chatterton
-Undersea explorer Fabien Cousteau and, most recently Josh Davis, author of The Underdog.
– James O’Reilly, Executive Editor of Traveler’s Tale
– Lonely Planet’s Don George
– Eric Stiller, kayaker and the author of Keep Australia on Your Left
– Jim Benning, co-editor of the online travel site Worldhum
– Dean LaTourrette and Kristine Enea, travel authors
– Cafe Reggio

iPod Listening When U Travel

by Erik Olsen on

Like a lot of people, I have fallen so in love with my ipod that, after my wallet, it’s the one thing I HAVE to carry with me when I leave the house. And before I go, I always make sure that it is loaded up with the most recent podcasts from NPR, as well as my Charlie Rose subscription on Audible.com AND many audio books from audible. I was happy to see Iva blog about audible’s content, especially about Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between, which I actually have in its atom-based, tree-pulp form and am enjoying immensely.

But for those who travel and are looking for walking tours and such to put on their ipods and other listening devices, here are a couple of ideas.

A company called AudioSteps offers audio walking tours of various cities around the country including New Orleans, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For the internationally-inclined, especially those traveling to London, a company called BlueBrolly has a fine selection of audio walks for areas including Westminster, Soho, Chinatown, Greenwich, Covent Garden, St Paul’s and other spots around the English capital. Finally, PodGuides takes a step further and offers digital maps and small pictures, along with the audio tracks. A fine idea, and one I’m sure we’ll be seeing a LOT more of.

The Wandering Honeymooners

by Dave Luna on

OK, so maybe you spent your honeymoon watching your new spouse drop the wedding gift money at the Pai Gow Poker tables in Atlantic City. Come on. I can’t be the only one. Well, it doesn’t matter anyway because your honeymoon probably still pales in comparison to the following one.

Television presenters Sarah Lane and Brendan Moran quit their jobs, tied the knot, and embarked upon a year-long, globe-hopping honeymoon. They’re about five months into their journey, and the newlyweds have already hit such exotic destinations as Greece, Russia, and Vietnam. The duo have been writing about their road warrior escapades/comic misadventures on their blog: The Traveling Morans. They also release humorous — and well-edited — videos about once or twice a month via their podcast.

Their trip is definitely worth following because the Morans are adorable and funny as newlyweds should be. Not only are their stories honest, but they’re filled with those beautiful moments that take you back to your own honeymoon memories of the Showboat Casino and Hotel. Right, that’s just me again.